Trust In Optimism
by Chaos Inventor
Summary: This is just a simple story about two couples. And… and then there's Raeger.
1. Chapter 1

Iris descended the stairs to the antique shop after hearing a cacophony from the room.

"What happened?" Iris asked her brother who was holding a vase tightly to his chest.

"Fritz was here... At least nothing's broken," Mistel answered, sighing shakily, still not having recovered from the incident.

"Uh… where did he go?" Iris asked.

"I don't know. I was too busy **screaming at him and saving this priceless antique vase from destruction!** He probably ran out of the shop," Mistel hissed.

Iris looked around the shop a little and noticed Fritz was actually hiding behind a cabinet.

While Mistel nervously placed things back where they were supposed to be, Iris made her way over to the cabinet and whispered to Fritz, "Are you going to leave?"

"Mistel will kill me if I move," Fritz whispered back.

"He's distracted right now. Make a run for it," Iris suggested.

Iris and Fritz then quickly exited the shop while Mistel was busy. After they were outside, Iris asked Fritz, "What happened in there?"

"Well, it wasn't my fault! _Your brother_ was the one who told me to stop by because he had something to say to me. And then while he was talking, I just got a bit distracted, **it was an accident!** Then he started screaming at me!" Fritz explained frantically.

Before he continued with his frantic speech, Iris said, "Oh Fritz, you're bleeding!"

"Huh? Really? Oh okay," Fritz said, noting the gash on his arm.

"No, not okay. Let's go to the clinic," Iris said.

"It's not that big a deal," Fritz replied.

"Don't be silly, we'll go right now," Iris swore and they walked away from the antique shop, Iris dragging Fritz along.

They arrived at the clinic but Marian wasn't there; Angela was still working though.

"Thank goodness you're still here," Iris sighed and pushed Fritz in front of herself.

"Well, well, I was wondering when you'd show up," Angela sighed at the sight of Fritz in the clinic once again.

"It's not that big a deal!" Fritz said but Iris pushed him forward again.

"Let's see what it is…" Angela muttered and started inspecting Fritz's injury.

Iris watched and waited the entire time while Angela cleaned Fritz's wound. Fritz started to feel nervous with Iris staring at them. By the time Angela was finished, even she felt unnerved.

Angela turned to Iris and said, "Did you really need to stay? Fritz doesn't need to be walked home like you're his mother."

"What did you just say about me?" Iris muttered.

"N- nothing! I just… You can both run along now," Angela murmured.

Fritz was ready to run off but Iris was slower to leave. She walked over to Angela and said, "You know, it's a little unfair that you have to work so much. You never really have a chance to get out and meet people."

"I don't mind," Angela replied.

"Oh, but I feel so sorry for all the people who don't get to meet you! You're so cute but you're always in that constricting nurse's uniform," Iris sighed, as though this was the greatest injustice the world had known.

"Excuse me? I… Did you just call me cute?" Angela questioned.

"Certainly," Iris said with a wink. "But you're a little too uptight."

"...Well, you're smothering," Angela replied.

"Hey! I was complimenting you!" Iris gasped.

"I don't mind being the way that I am! Don't tell me what I should do," Angela grumbled and walked off to do more of her work.

"I would never tell you to change," Iris murmured to herself and then left the clinic.

* * *

Mistel stood, gazing at one of the plazas of Oak Tree town, when Fritz ran up to him, saying, "I'm sorry about the other day!"

"I'm still angry," Mistel replied, not even looking over at Fritz.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Fritz wailed repeatedly.

"Hmm… I don't know if I'll forgive you," Mistel sighed, purposely looking away from him.

Fritz continued his heartfelt apologies, over and over, doing his best to get into Mistel's eye line. After awhile of this, Mistel relented and said, "Hee hee, okay, I forgive you."

Fritz's trademark goofy smile reappeared on his face and he hugged Mistel.

"All right, you've made your point," Mistel said and Fritz let go of him.

"So… you wanted to tell me something the other day… before you started screaming at me. What was it?" Fritz asked.

"It… doesn't matter. Not any more," Mistel replied.

"Wait, we're good, right? I didn't shatter our friendship beyond repair, did I?!" Fritz asked, panicked.

Mistel looked at him, sighed, and said, "No, everything's exactly as it was before."

"You sure? And you're sure you don't want to tell me whatever it was you were going to say?" Fritz asked.

"Yes, yes, it's all fine," Mistel replied.

"Well then… I should get back to my farm. I left a whole lot of work unfinished," Fritz said.

"Go on then," Mistel said, shooing him away.

Mistel watched Fritz race off and sighed to himself. He could hardly believe it.

"After all the times I messed him around, I was sure he tried to break that vase as revenge. But no. He really is oblivious to my teasing," Mistel murmured to himself.

* * *

Angela visited the antique shop one day and met with Iris upstairs.

"What reason do you have to visit me?" Iris asked her curiously.

"I wanted to ask you… You remember the other day when you said I never get out to meet people?" Angela said.

"Yes. What did you want to ask me?" Iris continued.

"Well, I, um… Do you really think I'm… uptight? Do you look at me and think I'm strict and… no fun to be around?" Angela asked.

"You're not really worrying about what I said, are you? I didn't mean to upset you! Wait, did you come by because you want me to help you loosen up? Get you a new outfit and the like?" Iris asked.

Angela shook her head furiously, then slowly she stopped and said, "Well… maybe. Do _you_ think I would look better if I changed my style?"

"Angela, you're adorable. Stop questioning that," Iris replied. "Although… maybe we could do one thing..."

Iris reached over to Angela and undid her hair. Whoosh. Down fell Angela's hair.

Iris was taken aback. She stared at Angela in shocked silence.

"Um… Is it okay? Do I look weird?" Angela asked.

Iris didn't respond. She continued to stare at Angela.

"I knew it, it's horrible! Stop staring at me!" Angela yelped, covering her face with her hands.

"Wait, no! I was just surprised! You look beautiful, Angela!" Iris replied abruptly.

"I should be going. I have work to do," Angela snapped and ran out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Mistel was enjoying the pleasant natural surroundings just outside of town.

The gentle breeze and the sound of the river flowing along were wonderfully peaceful.

He was calmly walking along, and when he was under the shade of a tree, he heard:

 _Caw._

Mistel stopped in his tracks. Slowly, he turned his gaze skyward.

There, he saw a crow looking back at him from the tree he was beneath.

Mistel stared at the crow. The crow stared back.

Mistel wondered how long this staring contest would last before he ran for home. But if he ran, the crow would follow. He had to be careful…

Suddenly, the crow was flying at him!

Mistel screamed.

The scream was heard on the farms nearby. The livestock were startled; the chickens ruffled their feathers. Giorgio was also startled, but he didn't actually do anything.

Fritz, on the other hand, immediately jumped into action and ran in the direction of the scream.

When he had crossed the bridge, he saw Mistel trying to run from a crow that periodically swooped down violently at his head.

Fritz was filled with a burning rage. He ran over and tackled Mistel to the ground. Covering Mistel with his own body, the crow proceeded to attack Fritz instead.

Fritz grit his teeth and took the attacks, then turned over to lash out at the crow.

The crow was surprised at being fought back against. It flew back a bit, took one look at Fritz's glare and flew away, never to be seen again.

Fritz sat up, sighing in exhaustion. Mistel sat up as well, still shaken, and stared at Fritz in shock.

There was silence for awhile. Then, "Thank you."

"Hmm? What? Oh, that's no big deal," Fritz replied.

Mistel leaned over and looked at the scratches on the back of Fritz's head. "You're bleeding. A lot," Mistel pointed out.

"Aw man, not again. I don't want to go back to the clinic," Fritz sighed.

"A- Anyway, it _is_ a big deal. That crow wouldn't have left me alone. You… saved me," Mistel said.

Fritz smiled and replied, "If you're ever in trouble, I'll help you out!"

Mistel smiled back. Then he stood up and said, "You really should go to the clinic now."

Fritz accepted his fate and stood up as well.

When Fritz arrived at the clinic with Mistel, Angela sighed deeply and said, "You again… and it's Mistel this time..."

* * *

Iris was sat at her writing desk, pen at the ready, hovering above the paper. She stared at the page, her brow furrowed, trying to decide if she should write the next word or tear the whole thing up.

"What are you writing?" Mistel asked curiously from over her shoulder.

"Nothing. I'm just going to go burn this now," Iris replied, standing up with the paper in her hand.

Mistel very much wanted to know what she'd written after that, so he snatched it straight out of her hand and ran from her when she chased.

As Iris chased him in circles, Mistel struggled to read her writing. He said, as he ran, "Ooh, it's a love poem!"

"Give it back!" Iris snapped in reply.

Suddenly, Mistel stopped and Iris, not expecting that, barrelled into him.

"It's about Angela!" Mistel exclaimed. He looked up at his sister and said, "You're in love with Angela?"

"Well... you can't tell anyone. Nobody knows," Iris said.

Mistel handed the poem back over to Iris. She took it, screwed it up and threw it in the trash.

"And nobody will ever know," she muttered.

Mistel thought that was far too hopeless to be his sister's fate.

* * *

Fritz poked his head into the antique shop and said, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes. Come inside," Mistel replied.

Fritz entered and, standing by the door, asked, "What do you want to say to me?"

"Nothing in particular. I just wanted you to be here," Mistel answered.

"...Is this a trap? Are you waiting until I accidentally knock into something or… something?" Fritz questioned.

"No. _You better not do that,_ " Mistel growled.

"I'm not going to try!" Fritz replied. He moved into the centre of the room, trying not to stand too close to any objects, especially the fragile merchandise.

From there, Fritz looked over at Mistel and waited, but there was only silence.

"...No seriously. Why did you call me here?" Fritz asked.

"Come over here. Come on, over to me," Mistel said. Fritz walked over to the counter.

"Come closer. Closer," Mistel continued. Fritz leaned forward, wondering if Mistel was planning to whisper something to him.

"Closer," Mistel repeated. Finally, they were so close, their noses were almost touching. Mistel said nothing then. Fritz continued waiting.

"...Oh, I get it! Iris is out of town and you're bored, right?" Fritz said.

"Um… no, that wasn't it exactly," Mistel said.

"If you wanted to hang out, you just had to say so! I can stick around for awhile," Fritz said.

"Awhile? That's not going to be enough," Mistel said.

"Okay, until Iris gets back," Fritz promised.

"That's not the issue here," Mistel grumbled.

For that day, Fritz tried very hard to control his enthusiasm, so that he wouldn't let out his built up energy and break something in the antique shop.

Instead, he put all his energy into talking (he talked a lot) and smiling.

Later on, Mistel insisted they eat lunch together. After that, Mistel insisted they return to the antique shop as well. Fritz went along with it all.

Eventually, of course, Iris returned home and when she entered the antique shop, acknowledging both her brother and Fritz, and walked upstairs, Fritz said, "Well, I guess I'll be going now!"

"Hang on, you can't run away like that!" Mistel snapped as Fritz headed for the door.

"But… I said I'd go after Iris got back," Fritz said.

"And I didn't say that was acceptable," Mistel replied.

"I can't stay here forever, Mistel. I've got a job to do, and I can't just ignore everyone else," Fritz said.

"...You still don't get it? I guess I should have expected this," Mistel sighed.

"Uh, right. I've got to go. See you around!" Fritz said cheerfully and left the shop.

"...Well, if he still doesn't understand, I'll just have to make it clear to him," Mistel decided.


	3. Chapter 3

Before Mistel could work on his plans for Fritz, he had something else he needed to do.

He walked into the clinic, waved hello to Marian as he passed by, walked up to Angela and after typical pleasantries, he asked her, "Do you mind if we talk for a bit?"

"No, not really," Angela replied, taking a moment's break from her work.

"So tell me. What do you think of Iris?" Mistel asked.

"She's… nice. Why are you asking? Have you finally got sick of her and want to move out?" Angela asked.

"...No," Mistel replied, confused, wondering why this was Angela's first thought.

"Oh. Well then. Never mind!" Angela said.

"...So that's it? You think she's nice? And that's it?" Mistel asked, disappointed.

"Well, uh… I don't know what else to say," Angela murmured.

"Do you like spending time with her? Do you think she's annoying? Would you date her-Anything!" Mistel suggested.

"What was that last one?" Angela asked suspiciously.

"Just answer my question properly. What do you think of Iris?" Mistel asked again.

"What do I think of her? Well… she's impressive. I admire her. I have a great deal of respect for her," Angela mumbled.

The more she said, the more disappointed Mistel became.

"She's very successful," Angela continued. "And she's so glamorous. Probably the most beautiful woman I've ever met. I… I kind of wish she wouldn't tease so much though… because I wish she was serious when she said I was cute..."

Suddenly Angela realised there were other people listening. Even Marian had heard.

"Oh my," he said and laughed quietly to himself.

"No wait, I didn't mean that!" Angela snapped, looking desperately between Marian and Mistel.

But the damage had already been done. Mistel was grinning.

"Stop grinning! Stop making fun of me!" Angela cried.

"I'm not laughing at you!" Mistel replied.

"Then why are you grinning so much?" Angela questioned.

"Because… well… you see," Mistel murmured and then whispered to Angela, "...You've got a chance with her."

He then proceeded to flee the clinic, leaving Angela in a daze.

* * *

"I have something to tell you!" Mistel declared as he rushed into the antique shop.

Iris walked downstairs and replied, "What is it?"

"Angela likes you back," Mistel said.

"...What?" Iris asked.

"Okay, she didn't say it in those exact words, but it was obvious. So you should ask her out!" Mistel encouraged.

"No. No, I couldn't do that," Iris replied.

"Why not?" Mistel asked, confused.

"Because it… wouldn't be right! We belong in two different worlds. Our jobs, our statuses, our gender... We just don't belong together. Not even mentioning the fuss Veronica would make," Iris rambled.

"You don't belong together? That would stop you? I don't think anything like that stopped you before. Isn't love more important?!" Mistel questioned.

"Don't talk to me about love, Mistel! I've been in love before… It never lasts," Iris said.

"So you'll just bury it forever? When did you become so pessimistic?" Mistel asked.

"I'm just trying to be more realistic… and less selfish. Why should I put Angela through something she doesn't even want?" Iris questioned.

"How do you know what she wants? How can you know unless you ask her yourself?!" Mistel demanded.

"That's enough. I don't want to talk about this any more. Just… leave me alone, Mistel," Iris said.

She walked back upstairs grumpily and was completely silent for the rest of the day.

* * *

It wasn't until the next day when Iris ran into Angela. Well, actually, Angela was looking for her.

Iris smiled softly and said, "How are you today?"

"I… um, I'm… I… I'm really nervous!" Angela finally blurted out, as honesty was the only way she could.

"I can see that," Iris replied, a little shocked.

"Iris, I… I've been trying to build up the confidence to talk to you since yesterday…" Angela mumbled. "I asked Marian to help me and he… he told me I had to be confident! And assertive! So um..."

She took off her glasses and tried to clean them a little on the cuff on her sleeve. After she seemed satisfied with that, she didn't put her glasses back on.

Instead, she put her free hand on Iris's shoulder, pulled her towards her and pressed her own lips to Iris's. For a second.

Angela pulled back quickly and nervously. Iris was stunned. Angela put her glasses back on as the silence dragged on.

"...I wasn't expecting that," Iris admitted after she had finally recovered enough to speak.

Angela wondered if she'd just made a complete fool of herself. She considered running away so she wouldn't have to deal with any consequences.

But it was already too late.

Iris pulled Angela towards her in an embrace and she was smiling her warm, beautiful smile, directly at her. Angela wasn't sure if she could handle it.

"Maybe it'll work out this time," Iris murmured to herself, trusting in optimism.

"Hmm?" Angela replied.

"Never mind. It's not important… Only this is important," Iris said, embracing Angela even tighter.

"Um… Iris?" Angela whispered.

Iris looked at her curiously, then noticed that Angela was standing on the tips of her toes, struggling to get closer to Iris's face.

Iris laughed softly, then leaned forward and kissed her again.

* * *

"Ah Fritz, how good of you to drop by. Come over here," Mistel said as Fritz entered the antique shop.

Fritz obliged him by walking over to the counter. "What is it?" Fritz asked.

Mistel offered no explanation for his actions as he grabbed Fritz' hand.

"...Why are you putting that ring onto my finger?" Fritz asked, completely befuddled.

"I've decided we have to make our relationship official," Mistel replied.

"Relationship? You… you, wait, what?" Fritz mumbled confusedly.

"Yes. If you weren't so adorably innocent and naive, this would have been a lot easier," Mistel sighed.

"Wait… you like me?!" Fritz asked.

"Yes," Mistel said, sighing even louder.

"So, like, all that stuff you were doing before?" Fritz mumbled.

"Yes! I like you! I want to go out with you! How obvious do I have to make it?" Mistel snapped.

Fritz grinned. He threw his arms around Mistel and hugged him tightly; maybe a little too tightly.

But a few moments later, he loosened his grip and said, "I don't understand why you didn't just say so from the beginning."

"I was trying to be subtle," Mistel replied.

"...Well, that was a stupid plan," Fritz said.

"Yes, I see that now," Mistel sighed. When dealing with Fritz, subtlety isn't an option.


	4. Epilogue: Raeger

_(A/N: Wow, this chapter is really long. I hope you like reading about Raeger. Anyway, this is the end of the story so thanks for reading!)_

* * *

 _"Another slice of cake":_

Lillie was sitting at the counter in Raeger's restaurant, eating a slice of cake.

 _This was the last slice of cake,_ she told herself.

Mistel and Fritz were also in the restaurant, but they were just leaving.

Raeger was cleaning their empty plates while Lillie chomped down forkfuls of cake happily.

When Raeger was done, he watched Lillie finishing her plate as well.

"Do you want another slice?" Raeger asked, as he had already done when she'd finished her first slice.

"No, no, that's enough," Lillie said.

"Are you sure? It's really good," Raeger said.

"W- well, maybe. But I really shouldn't," Lillie said, trying to be firm.

Raeger put another slice of cake on Lillie's plate. She glared at him for a second but by then, she was already shoving another forkful of cake into her mouth.

As Lillie ate the cake, she watched Raeger, and after awhile, she said to him, "Are you okay, Raeger? You look upset."

"I look upset? Really?" Raeger asked, surprised.

"Yeah, you do. Also, I noticed you glaring at Mistel and Fritz earlier… I thought you'd be happy for your friend," Lillie said.

"...I don't know. But seeing them together bothers me," Raeger said.

"It bothers you?" Lillie asked curiously.

Raeger shrugged and continued, "Maybe it's just because Fritz will be too busy to hang out with me now."

"...Oh, you _liked_ Fritz. That explains it," Lillie said.

"What? No," Raeger scoffed.

"I'm just kidding," Lillie giggled.

Her fork hit her plate with a clang. Lillie looked down and realised she'd finished another slice of cake. She looked up again and saw Raeger was about to try and convince her to eat another slice.

She jumped out of her seat and snapped, "No, Raeger! You won't trick me again!"

She slammed her money down on the counter and left the restaurant.

* * *

 _"The mother's always the last to know":_

Raeger had dropped into the guild hall because he had something or other to do there, and he noticed Angela running to and from the clinic, busily.

Upon seeing Angela, Raeger looked to Veronica curiously, but she seemed her normal self.

Raeger walked over to Veronica after Angela had run back into the clinic another time, and he asked her, "How are you coping now that Angela's growing up?"

"What?" Veronica asked confusedly.

"Well, you know, now that she's dating Iris," Raeger said.

"...She's **WHAT?!** She's… wait a second _… did you say_ _ **Iris?!**_ " Veronica hissed.

Raeger said nothing, realising now he had made a terrible mistake.

"I have to go speak to my daughter now," Veronica said and stormed into the clinic.

A few moments later, Angela came running out. She saw the guilty look in Raeger's eyes as she ran past, and so she yelled, "Why did you tell her?!"

Veronica was quick to follow and both of them had run out of guild hall in a few seconds.

Raeger decided he would sneak back to his restaurant now instead of interfering again. As he made his way out, he saw Veronica catching up with Angela and begin pulling her by the ear back home.

Once Veronica had gotten Angela back to the guild hall, she made her sit upstairs while she growled at her.

"I'm not even going to bring up the fact that you're in a relationship with another girl yet; I want to know this first. Why would you keep this a secret from me?" Veronica questioned.

"I kept it secret _because_ it's a relationship with another girl," Angela answered.

"Listen Angela. That's not what I'm upset about. I can live with that… I'm not going to like it, but I can live with it…" Veronica muttered. "But I don't know if I can live with you keeping secrets from me."

"...I'm sorry… I won't do it again," Angela murmured.

"That's your only secret then, hmm?" Veronica asked.

"Of course it is. I'm not a suspicious person by nature," Angela replied.

After that day, Veronica never looked at Iris the same way. She always glared at her with distrusting eyes. But Angela and Iris settled for that much. It was the best they could get from her.

* * *

 _"How many times are you going to screw up?":_

Nadi walked into Raeger's restaurant to make his order and then eat it outside like he usually did.

When he walked up to the counter, Raeger smiled as he did to all his customers and asked Nadi, "Would you like the usual?"

"My usual? You know my usual now?" Nadi replied.

"Yeah, I'm pretty good at remembering this kind of stuff," Raeger said.

"Uh, yeah. I'll wait outside," Nadi said and headed to his usual table.

 _My usual… I can't believe I've fallen into such a routine,_ Nadi thought to himself. _Still, the food's good here. And it's nice to be remembered like that. It makes things easier._

Raeger arrived with Nadi's food and set it down in front of him with another of his broad smiles.

"Enjoy!" Raeger added pleasantly before going back inside.

Nadi was silent, staring at his plate.

 _This is… not my usual. Actually, I goddamn hate this,_ Nadi thought to himself. _Should I… tell Raeger he made a mistake? But he seemed like he was in a good mood… This would totally ruin his day. So, should I just eat this anyway? I don't know…_

Some time later, Raeger came rushing out of his restaurant and up to Nadi.

Raeger said in distress, "I'm sorry! I screwed up your order! This was actually someone else's order! Um..."

Nadi had just finished eating. He looked at his empty plate and then over to Raeger.

Then he said, "Well, I guess you'll have to give me a free meal then. Go on, make my _actual_ usual."

"Ha ha, were you even aware of what you were eating?" Raeger wondered.

Nadi didn't say anything, pretending that he hadn't noticed Raeger's mistake in the first place.

* * *

 _"More cake adventures":_

Corona looked at the cake she'd just pulled out of the oven. She stared at it, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Her face scrunched up as she studied the cake. _Something_ was wrong with it…

As she moved the cake onto a serving plate and began to cut into it, Raeger entered the carpentry shop. Hearing the door open, Corona left the cake with the knife still in it and rushed to see who the customer was.

"Oh, Raeger. What are you doing here?" Corona asked.

"I heard you were a struggling chef so I thought I might help you out," Raeger said.

"Oh! I just baked a cake, you know. Would you like to try it?" Corona offered.

"Sure!" Raeger replied pleasantly.

Corona led Raeger to the back room and cut him a slice of her cake.

He took a bite and as he chewed it, his eyes shot wide open.

"What do you think? What do I need to change?" Corona asked.

"I don't know where to begin," Raeger said, his eyes wide and unreadable.

Corona waited for Raeger to continue his statement, but all he did was pick the cake up and throw it in the bin. Corona was disheartened.

"Let's start over from scratch," Raeger decided and started looking for ingredients in the kitchen.

Corona helped him gather all the ingredients, then Raeger instructed her while she repeated the cooking process.

Once the cake mix was in the oven, Raeger and Corona chatted to one another to pass the time.

Then when the cake was ready, and it already looked much better than Corona's original one, Raeger took it upon himself to cut out a slice.

He got a forkful and held it up for Corona, saying, "Here, taste it."

Before Corona could do anything, however, Gunther walked into the room. There was a moment of silence as the three of them looked at one another.

Then Gunther said, "What are you doing with my wife?"

"Um, I was just… teaching her to make cake," Raeger mumbled nervously.

"It didn't look like that was all you were doing!" Gunther growled.

"Gunther, nothing was happening!" Corona snapped.

"Why don't you spend time with a woman your own age!" Gunther suggested.

"Calm down," Corona sighed.

Raeger laughed, trying to seem trustworthy, then bolted for the door. Gunther chased him angrily and Corona followed, hoping Raeger would get away.

* * *

 _"Falling for you":_

Raeger was walking down a street when he saw Agate sitting on the ground, clutching one of her knees with a troubled expression on her face.

Raeger walked over to her and asked, "Are you all right?"

Agate swung her head to Raeger's direction, surprised she hadn't noticed him. "Oh, I'm fine! Just skinned my knee a bit!" Agate replied.

She grinned, got onto her feet and brushed the dirt off her knees.

"Hmm. Well, you seem okay, I guess," Raeger said.

"Oh, are you busy, Raeger? If you aren't, would you like to take a walk together?" Agate asked.

"I'm not busy. Let's walk," Raeger replied and they set off at a slow but steady pace.

They looked around at the town as they passed it by. The sun had almost completely set so, while looking at the pinkish hues in the sky, Agate said, "Nice night, huh?"

"Yes. It's very pleasant," Raeger replied.

"Does it feel good to get some fresh air after being cooped up all day?" Agate asked.

"Huh? Well, yeah," Raeger answered.

"Good. I hope you're feeling fine," Agate said.

"Why are you so worried about me?" Raeger asked.

"Well, it's… you see, people who work with customers all day have to smile all the time. So no one would really know if you were upset. You have to keep all that bottled up, anyway," Agate said.

"...You really thought of that?" Raeger asked.

Agate thought about it and replied, "I think it was something Lillie said to me. Yeah, it was probably Lillie."

 _I guess Lillie was talking about me,_ Raeger thought.

"So anyway. If you have any worries, just tell me! I'll listen," Agate said with a grin.

"No, I don't have any worries," Raeger replied, _that I can tell you,_ he thought.

"You sure? Okay then. I'm going to head home now," Agate said.

"Bye," Raeger said and turned to head for his own home.

 _Thud!_

Raeger turned around again and saw Agate had already tripped again.

"Are you kidding me?" Raeger muttered.

* * *

 _"Raeger's true feelings":_

Fritz stopped by the restaurant on his own one day. This was a rare occurrence now, so Raeger paid a lot of attention to him.

After they'd been talking a long time and just as Fritz was getting ready to leave, Raeger sighed.

"You hardly ever come by here any more," he said.

"Huh? Do you miss me?" Fritz asked.

Raeger smiled slightly, about to say yes, then laughed and lied, "No!"

"Well, uh… I'm going to go… unless there's something else you wanted to say to me?" Fritz said.

Raeger said nothing. Fritz shrugged and got up to go.

When he saw Fritz leaving, Raeger suddenly felt the need to act. He reached over and grabbed the back of Fritz's shirt to stop him from moving.

Fritz was surprised by this, but he was even more surprised when he felt Raeger's arms wrap around him and pull him close.

Raeger tried to hold Fritz closer, nothing holding him back at this moment. And he said, quietly, "I don't want you to go..."

Fritz was shocked. He didn't say anything or do anything.

Suddenly, Raeger let go and pushed Fritz away from him, softly.

Fritz turned to face Raeger and said, "Did you… did you just?"

"Nothing! Ha ha, that was just… me saying goodbye! You can leave now! Ha ha, we're just friends!" Raeger laughed nervously.

Fritz stared at Raeger confusedly.

Of course, since Fritz had been gone for so long, Mistel had gone looking for him. He found him here and had seen everything that had happened.

Mistel, who was watching from outside a window of the restaurant, muttered under his breath, _"You're dead, Raeger."_

* * *

 _"I wonder what Mistel is writing?":_

Mistel was holding open a book, writing little bits from time to time, deep in thought.

Iris was surprised to see him writing, so she walked up behind him and asked, "What are you writing?"

 _I'm plotting various ways to murder Raeger,_ was the answer, but Mistel wasn't going to admit that.

"Just, um, some private information," Mistel replied.

"Hmmm… okay," Iris murmured, disappointed she wouldn't get to read her brother's writing.

Fritz also saw Mistel writing that day. Later on, he turned up at the antique shop while Mistel was out. He walked over to the counter and found Mistel's book there.

Curiously, he began to read its contents.

When Mistel got back and saw Fritz reading his book, they both looked at each other suspiciously.

Then Fritz asked, "Why are you planning on killing Raeger?"

"...I have to eliminate my competition," Mistel answered.

Fritz tossed the book aside, ran over to Mistel and said, very seriously, "You can't kill him! You'll get in trouble for that!"

Mistel became shifty eyed. Then he replied, "You can't stop me."

"Yes I can. I can subdue you," Fritz said.

"How do you plan to do that?" Mistel questioned.

Fritz threw his arms around Mistel and squeezed him so tightly that Mistel couldn't even breathe properly. Fritz remained totally rigid while Mistel attempted to struggle, but that didn't last long.

"Now you can't move," Fritz stated.

Mistel didn't do anything for awhile. He allowed himself to be comforted by Fritz's warmth and then said, "...Okay. I guess I can accept this."


End file.
